I have had great luck buying online. As a matter of fact, I just got my wife a complete setup similar to my "dive shop" setup for about a 1/3 of what I paid for mine. As far as online dealers, most are LOCAL DIVE SHOPS in larger cities that are in tune with the internet revolution and have expanded their business 10 fold by selling online. Example: www.scubatoys.com This is a huge shop in the DFW area which I have physically visited. Great shop with great staff who sell online every day. Sure, you can get some shady stuff online but just do some homework. And believe me, I support my local shops very often for those little "need it now" items!